Hair retaining device

ABSTRACT

A clip for application to hair curlers of different diameters. The clip comprises two legs joined at one end by an open loop, one of the legs being disposed in a cavity in the curler and having a portion spanning the cavity to contact opposite walls thereby securing the clip to the curler.

United States Patent Meeks [151 3,654,937 51 Apr. 11,1972

[54] HAIR RETAINING DEVICE [72] Inventor: Fredrick T. Meeks, Asheboro, NC.

[73] Assignee: General Electric Company [22] Filed: Apr. 29, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 32,977

1,001,953 10/1951 France ..132/40 Primary ExaminerLouis G. Mancene Assistant Examiner-J. N. Eskovitz [52] US. Cl ..132/40 Ammey Lawrence Kempwn, Leonard L Plan Frederick [51] IIIL CI. I) weidner, Frank L Neuhausery 05car B wadde" and [58] held of Search 132/40, 41, 41 A Joseph Forman [56] References Cited 57 ABSTRACT UNITED STATES PATENTS A clip for application to hair curlers of different diameters. The clip comprises two legs joined at one end by an open loop, 3,469,585 CIlffOfd I one ofthe g being disposed in a cavity the Cutler and 1,412,963 4/1922 P011161 ..132/40 g a portion p g the cavity to Contact pp walls 3,461,884 8/1969 Augusta.... 1 32/40 thereby securing the clip to the curler 1,899,428 2/1933 Solomon... ..132/5O 2,614,570 10/1952 Hall ..132/50 6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 1/ \i DI Z/ 111 w \u! 3Z* HAIR RETAINING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a clip for retaining hair wound upon hair curlers or rollers and more particularly a clip for use with the type of hair curlers that are used in conjunction with heated hair curling devices.

2. Description of the Prior Art Curling hair may be accomplished in several ways. One popular way is by the use of a hair curler or roller which may be heated, moistened or both and applied to the hair. A lock of hair is wound circumferentially around each hair curler and the curler then retained in place in the hair for a period of time. The hair curler gives off either heat, moisture or both, as the case may be, while the hair is wound around it, thus softening the cortex layer of the hair. After a short period of time the hair will be set or curled whereupon the curlers are removed from the hair. The curlers are retained in place by various kinds of clips. One of the more commonly used clips consists of a pair of opposed clamping legs one of which is adapted to be disposed within a central axially disposed cavity in the curler body and the other leg overlies the hair wound around the curler to hold it against the curler and retain it in place on the curler.

One of the main difficulties with this type of clip is that they cannot be interchangeably used with a range of curlers having various diameters. A particularly troublesome problem is when the hair curler is used in connection with electrically heated hair curling devices. These curling devices commonly provide a plurality of upstanding heat conductive rods or posts upon which the hair curlers are placed for heating. It is desirable to have various size diameter curlers interchangeably usable with this device but yet the upstanding heat conductive posts a common diameter. In this manner, users may select whatever curler size they desire. For good heat conductivity, the posts and the curler should interfit snugly, otherwise, an insulating air space exists between the post and curler which detrimentally affects the curler heating process. With the internal cavity of the various size curlers the same diameter, the wall of the curler body between the cavity and the outside surface of the curler will necessarily vary in thickness. By my invention, I provide a clip which may be used effectively and easily over a range of curlers having different size diameters and particularly with curlers having different wall thicknesses.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with my invention, there is provided a clip for application to a hair curler having a cylindrical body and an interior walled cavity open at at least one end. The clip comprises two generally parallel opposing clamping legs joined at one end by an open loop. The clip is adapted for one of said legs to be positioned in the curler cavity and the other to overlie the outside of the curler to retain hair wound circumferentially around the curler. The clip is constructed so that the open loop has a diameter sufficient to accept a range of various size curler wall thicknesses. The leg of the clip positioned in the curler cavity has two portions, the first portion departs the loop and converges toward the other leg of the clip and contacts the wall of the curler cavity. The second portion starts at a slight reverse bend which joins the two portions and diverges from the other leg of the clip in the direction of its terminal end to span the curler cavity and contact the cavity wall on the opposite side thereby securing the clip to the curler.

It is an object of the invention to provide a clip for use in conjunction with a hair curler.

It is another object of this invention to provide a clip for retaining hair wound upon hair curlers having different size diameters.

It is another object of this invention to provide a clip that may be used in conjunction with a range of hollow hair curlers having various size diameters but with the same interior cavity diameter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of my clip on a hair curler.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of my clip.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing my clip in a secured position on a hair curler.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 3 but showing my clip in a secured position on a larger size diameter hair curler.

FIG. 5 is an end view of my clip in position on the curler shown in FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings in detail, FIG. 1 illustrates a hair clip on a hair curler used with electrically heated hair curler devices.

These curlers are commonly heated preparatory to the hair setting operation by placing them on heat conductive posts of a hair curler device. The curler consists of a cylindrical body 10 that has an interior cavity 11 open at least one end of the curler for receiving the heated posts of the hair curling device. The cylindrical outer surface of the curler body 10 has an array of outwardly projecting elements 12 which function to provide a means of keeping the users fingers away from the hot cylindrical body 10 when handling the curler and also they provide a means for gripping the hair to help retain it on the curler in the rolled-up condition. The projecting elements 12 may be of various configurations. It is desirable to have the projecting elements arranged in spaced rows so that thehair clip may be placed lengthwise of the curler between the rows without obstruction from the projecting elements. By having the elements arranged in spaced longitudinally aligned rows around the circumference of the curler body there are several areas for receiving the hair clip after the hair has been wound on the curler by the user. The clip 14 is placed on the curler such that one leg is positioned within the curler cavity 11 and the other leg is on the outside of the curler body between the rows of projecting elements 12 and holds the hair (not shown) in place against the body 10 of the curler.

With reference to FIG. 2, a perspective view of clip 14 is shown. This clip is one piece and preferably formed of metal of resilient characteristic, such as spring steel, and, thus, is capable of being placed under tension. It's cross-sectional width is narrow, being formed from a strip of uniform cross section, the thickness of the cross section being relatively small. The strip is formed into a shape which includes a pair of generally parallel opposing clamping legs 15 and 16. The two legs are joined by an open spring loop 20 at one end of the clip. The legs 15 and 16 at the other end of the clip have free termini 21 and 22, respectively. Leg 16 from where it departs loop 20 at junction area 23 to terminal end 22 is straight and the surface of leg 16 adjacent the curler body is preferably fiat. Leg 15, which is adapted for insertion into curler cavity 11 when placed on the curler, has two portions. The first portion 24 departs loop 20 at junction area 25 and extends in the direction of the terminal end 21. First portion 24 converges toward leg 16 until it is either touching leg 16 or in close proximity thereto. A slight reverse bend 30 is formed in leg 15 where the first portion 24 is touching or closest to leg 16. The second portion 26 of leg 15 diverges from leg 16 and extends from bend 30 to terminal end 21. The second portion 25 in the preferred embodiment of my invention has a section 31 substantially parallel to leg 16 formed by a slight reverse bend 39 and extending to the terminal end 21.

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 show clip 14 of FIG. 2 secured to a hair curler and in the position it normally is used in conjunction therewith to retain hair on the curler. The cylindrical body 10 of the curler shows in cross section may be made from any suitable material. Curler bodies may be molded from a variety of synthetic plastic compositions, such as nylon, polyethylene, polypropylene or any other suitable moldable material. If the curler is to be heated for use, or subjected to hair treating solutions, the material from which it is made should, of course, be compatible with the environmental conditions involved.

Many such curlers will have an insert of different material, such as metal, forming the cavity of the curler. These inserts are normally used to enhance the thermal conductivity or heat retention qualities of the curler. The curlers shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 do not have any such insert, however, it is to be understood that my invention may be utilized with or without such an insert. Cavity 11 has an open end 32 at one end of the curler body which has a radiused or curved circumferential edge 33 that facilitates easy placement of clip 14 onto the curler. Cavity 11 is generally cylindrical in shape and has an inner wall surface 34. The cavity 11 extends from the open end 32 to closed end 35 at the opposite end of curler body 10 and is centrally disposed along the longitudinal axis of the curler. While it is not essential to this invention that the interior cavity 11 be closed at end 35 this type of clip does require that there be an opening at least at one end so that leg of the clip may be inserted into the cavity. The diameter of the cavity at the open end 32, designated D1, is slightly larger than its diameter at the closed end, designated D2, thereby providing an inwardly tapered cavity wall surface from the open end to the closed end of the curler. It will be noted that this taper is slight and gradual, the advantage of which will be discussed later.

Clip 14 is placed on the curler body 10 with leg 16 outside the curler body and leg 15 inserted into the curler body within cavity 11. Nonnally, when the clip and hair curler are being used, a lock of hair will be wound around the curler body circumferentially and will be retained on the curler between leg 16 and the outside surface of the curler body 10. The clip is formed such that the terminal end 21 of leg 15 is spaced from leg 16 a distance greater than the thickness of the curler wall 36 at the open end of the curler. By this arrangement, the clip may be placed on the curler without requiring the user to spread the legs 15 and 16 apart manually. As clip 14 is pushed onto the curler body 10 leg 15 contacts inner wall surface 34 of cavity 11 primarily at bend 30 and for some distance along the first portion 24 of leg 15 toward loop 20. The second portion 26 of leg 15 spans cavity 11 diagonally from where it contacts wall surface 34 at bend 30 to the opposite side of the cavity where it is in contact with wall surface 34 along section 31. It will be understood that the length of second portion 26 and the angle at which it spans cavity 11 are adapted to the cavity diameter so that when the clip is in position on the curler, portion 26 acts to securely retain the clip on the curler. Advantageously, second portion 26 is under slight spring tension so that it firmly presses against the opposite walls of cavity 11 to enhance its retention qualities. As previously mentioned, cavity 11 is inwardly tapered toward closed end 35, so that as clip 14 is pushed onto the curler the second portion 26 of leg 15 is gradually placed under slightly increased spring tension. Terminal section 31 of leg 15 acts as a runner or skid to contact the wall surface 34 of the cavity so that leg 15 will slide easily along the cavity wall surface as the clip is moved relative to the curler. When the clip 14 is pushed onto the curler as far as it will go, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, terminal end 21 of leg 15 abutts closed end 35 and acts as a stop. In this manner, the length of leg 15 can be dimensioned in cooperation with the axial length of cavity 11 so that a portion of loop is left exposed outside the cavity of the curler, thus affording a finger grip for the user to grip the clip easily for removal of the clip from the curler.

FIG. 4 shows the clip in position on a hair curler similar to that shown in FIG. 3 and described above. In FIG. 4, however, the curler body 10 has a larger diameter but with the same diameter interior cavity 11. Consequently, the wall thickness of the curler between cavity wall surface 34 and the outside curler surface 37 is greater than that of the curler shown in FIG. 3. Clip 14 is placed on the curler in the same manner as described above in connection with FIG. 3. It will be noted that due to the increased wall thickness of the curler body, when the clip is in position on the larger diameter curler leg 15 is separated from leg 16 to a greater degree. There is in this case slightly more area of the first portion 24 of leg 15 in contact wi the cavity inner wall surface 34 than as shown in FIG. 3. Loop 20 joining legs 15 and 16 is spring formed so that separation of the legs is resisted. The diameter of loop 20, designated L, as measured between junction area 25 of leg 15 and junction area 23 of leg 16, should be great enough to accept a range of different curler wall thicknesses. Also, as mentioned previously, the distance between the terminal end 21 and leg 16 should also be such that the clip may be easily placed on these various size curlers. It will be apparent that in the clip of my invention, portion 26 of leg 15 acts to securely retain the clip on the curler. With the cavity diameters of various size curlers substantially the same my clip will be firmly secured to these curlers even though the curler wall thicknesses vary substantially since clip retention is not dependent solely upon spring tension between the parallel legs afforded by loop 20.

FIG. 5 is an end view of the curler and clip shown in FIG. 3 as viewed from the open end.

The foregoing is a description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, and variations may be made to the structure without departing from the spirit of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

I claim: 1. A hair curler device comprising: a. a hair curler having an interior walled cavity, and b. a clip having two ends, said clip having only two legs joined at one of said ends and having free termini at the other of said ends, one of said legs being disposed in the curler cavity and having a V-shaped section between said ends, and a portion of said section spanning said cavity and contacting opposite walls of the cavity thereby securing the clip to the curler. 2. A hair curler device comprising: a. a hair curler having an interior walled cavity open at at least one end, b. a clip having two ends, said clip having only two opposed resilient clamping legs with free termini at one of said ends and joined at the other of said ends by a spring loop, one of said legs being disposed within the curler cavity and having a V-shaped section between said ends, said section comprising, aa. a first portion converging toward the other leg in the direction of said one end and having a reverse bend in contact with the cavity wall, and

bb. a second portion departing the reverse bend and diverging from the other leg in the direction of said one end to span the cavity and contact the oppositewall of the cavity.

3. The hair curler device of claim 2 wherein the second portion of the leg disposed within the curler cavity has a terminal section substantially parallel to the other leg.

4. The hair curler device of claim 2 wherein the loop has a diameter sufficient to accept a range of various size curler wall thicknesses.

5. The hair curler device of claim 2 wherein the hair curler cavity is open at one end and closed at the other end and the cavity tapers to a smaller diameter at the closed end.

6. The hair curler device of claim 5 wherein the relationship of the length of the leg of the clip disposed within the curler cavity and the length of the cavity is such that the terminal end of said leg abutts the closed end of the cavity to prevent a portion of the loop from entering the cavity thereby affording an exposed finger grip. 

1. A hair curler device comprising: a. a hair curler having an interior walled cavity, and b. a clip having two ends, said clip having only two legs joined at one of said ends and having free termini at the other of said ends, one of said legs being disposed in the curler cavity and having a V-shaped section between said ends, and a portion of said section spanning said cavity and contacting opposite walls of the cavity thereby securing the clip to the curler.
 2. A hair curler device comprising: a. a hair curler having an interior walled cavity open at at least one end, b. a clip having two ends, said clip having only two opposed resilient clamping legs with free termini at one of said ends and joined at the other of said ends by a spring loop, one of said legs being disposed within the curler cavity and having a V-shaped section between said ends, said section comprising, aa. a first portion converging toward the other leg in the direction of said one end and having a reverse bend in contact with the cavity wall, and bb. a second portion departing the reverse bend and diverging from the other leg in the direction of said one end to span the cavity and contact the opposite wall of the cavity.
 3. The hair curler device of claim 2 wherein the second portion of the leg disposed within the curler cavity has a terminal section substantially parallel to the other leg.
 4. The hair curler device of claim 2 wherein the loop has a diameter sufficient to accept a range of various size curler wall thicknesses.
 5. The hair curler device of claim 2 wherein the hair curler cavity is open at one end and closed at the other end and the cavity tapers to a smaller diameter at the closed end.
 6. The hair curler device of claim 5 wherein the relationship of the length of the leg of the clip disposed within the curler cavity and the length of the cavity is such that the terminal end of said leg abutts the closed end of the cavity to prevent a portion of the loop from entering the cavity thereby affording an exposed finger grip. 